Ericsson IoT solution powers more efficient solar-powered transport

Stella Era is an experimental, solar car capable of traveling a distance of 1800 kilometers in part through more efficient use of solar energy. Equipped with Ericsson’s Solar Smart parking, Stella Era car drive autonomously to a parking spot with the most sunshine in order to recharge its batteries. It can also share its energy with other electric vehicles that are parked next to it.

The Solar Smart parking solution is based on Ericsson’s Connected Vehicle Cloud, a digital service platform that enables vehicle manufacturers to rapidly develop and manage new services for connected vehicles.

Stella Era is designed, constructed and driven by Solar Team Eindhoven (STE), a multidisciplinary group of students from the Technical University Eindhoven in the Netherlands.

Everth Flores, Country Manager, Ericsson Netherlands, says: “Ericsson supports the Solar Team Eindhoven not only because their innovative program has strong links to our core business of IoT, cloud and mobile broadband, but because we strongly believe in the role of technology to contribute to a low-carbon society. The development of a solar car is an excellent example of our commitment to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Through our innovative infrastructure solutions and partnerships, we are co-developing cases that can be scaled and inspire any entire industry.”

World Solar Challenge

In 2019, Solar Team Eindhoven took home top honors at the World Solar Challenge, a 3000 km race from Darwin to Adelaide in Australia. The recent victory caps off a string of wins during the 2013, 2015, and 2017 competitions.

In preparation for the 2017 World Solar Challenge, Ericsson, along with several partners, developed a navigation software solution that supports the driver in taking the most weather efficient route, while observing the charge of the battery. By collecting current weather and traffic data, Solar Navigator gives suggestions for the optimal route, which helps drivers make better decisions on things like speed and charging level, including during the World Solar Challenge race.